Although he has been coaching in the shadows, away from the glare and public scrutiny, the bright lights are not a completely unfamiliar concept to Lee Carsley.
Nothing that crops up when he steps out to take charge of England, on an interim basis through the autumn, can be any trickier than one morning in Saipan. The bulbs flashed that bit quicker then.
As luck would have it, Carsley's turn to do the world's media came hours after Roy Keane's meltdown with Mick McCarthy and the turmoil that provoked inside the Republic of Ireland camp ahead of the World Cup in 2002.
Carsley was thrust into the spotlight, sitting with Jason McAteer, without any preparation.
He laughs about it now, saying the two of them were just told to crack on as Ireland's world was crumbling around them. As half-hours go, it was not particularly comfortable.
Although he has been coaching in the shadows, away from the glare and public scrutiny, the bright lights are not a completely unfamiliar concept to Lee Carsley
As luck would have it, Carsley's turn to do the world's media came hours after Roy Keane's (left) meltdown with Mick McCarthy (right)
He has always seen himself as a development coach and really this role is no different
Maybe the episode played a subconscious part in senior coaching never really appealing to a central midfielder whose 17-year career saw him peak at Everton next to Thomas Gravesen in the David Moyes team that finished fourth.
He has always seen himself as a development coach and really, aside from the additional hoopla around the England team, this role — for however long it lasts — is no different.
He is not tasked with developing players, but rather developing a style of play that has been the hallmark of a wildly successful three years as the Under 21s manager.
The opportunity to do that is right up his street and, despite an ever-growing reputation, Carsley is still the man who places the cones out at the start of his training sessions.
He loves the routine of setting up, mapping out the next hour or so, and is a hands-on coach who will never truly be able to relinquish that side of his management.
He will go by Cars or Lee when the squad arrive for next month's Nations League meet with Ireland — no gaffer and no boss.
And there is pedigree. In delivering the first piece of men's silverware for 39 years, without conceding a goal throughout the European Championship, he introduced an expansive style to an England team rarely, perhaps never, seen before.
There was Angel Gomes and Curtis Jones operating as two progressive midfielders in the No6 positions, a method that looked alien to the seniors at this summer's tournament. England barely passed a ball backwards at the Under 21 edition.
Carsley's (left) 17-year career saw him peak at Everton in the David Moyes team that finished fourth
In delivering the first piece of men's silverware for 39 years, without conceding a goal throughout the European Championship, he introduced an expansive style
There was Angel Gomes and Curtis Jones (right) operating as two progressive midfielders in the No6 positions
But he has undoubtedly come to this, an audition for the most coveted position in the land, the long way.
When given a leg up at Coventry, taking over as caretaker in 2012 and 2013, Carsley did wonder if he could bluff his way to the top, yet knew none of that was bound to last.
Coventry were in League One and, having started well in temporary charge, he told Mail Sport that a half-time team talk against Swindon proved to him that he was nowhere near ready.
His team were leading by a goal, albeit against the run of play. Carsley darted into the manager's office at the Ricoh Arena and stood motionless listening to his players arguing with each other next door.
He had no clue how to counter a formation Swindon had foxed him with. He did not even know the shape they were playing.
'I knew myself, in that moment, I was miles off it,' he reflected. 'I'm thinking, "my God, I can't work it out".
'It would only have taken one of them asking, "Well, what are they doing?" and I would've been snookered. I couldn't have gone up to the tactics board and showed them.
'I had an awareness that if I'm not careful, I'll get elevated beyond my capability and the game will spit me out.'
When given a leg up at Coventry, taking over as caretaker in 2012 and 2013, Carsley did wonder if he could bluff his way to the top
Eleven years on, he is a genuine and deserved candidate to succeed Gareth Southgate
He has taken bits from everywhere, describing nipping into Pep Guardiola's sessions as the equivalent of peaking behind the curtain at the end of the Wizard of Oz
Coventry eventually lost 2-1 and the introspection of that story is partly why Carsley is at this particular juncture at this particular moment.
Eleven years on, he is a genuine and deserved candidate to succeed Gareth Southgate as leader of his country and become the man in the driving seat, working under an FA who have shown a penchant for promoting from within.
Swindon made him think of how best to attack coaching and that meant properly learning the craft, moulding players at Brentford, Manchester City, Birmingham and then England in various different guises.
He has taken bits from everywhere, describing nipping into Pep Guardiola's sessions as the equivalent of peaking behind the curtain at the end of the Wizard of Oz. He saw there were no special tricks, just simple instructions to the point.
Now he stands as one of this country's preeminent development coaches, with FA technical director John McDermott a huge admirer. Such an admirer, that they pushed harder than you might imagine to keep him after the Euros triumph.
Winning it is one thing, but the way it was done over the course of three weeks in Georgia was something entirely different. This looked like a Carsley team, a style England want to identify with, vindicating the millions spent on St George's Park.
The game plan was front foot, brave on the ball and stoic at the back. There was the intuitive Gomes further back, but also Anthony Gordon as a false nine.
At one point, Cole Palmer played in deep central midfield. Levi Colwill said he was made to feel like an attacker in possession.
There was an identity, breaking lines through midfield and a rotation in positioning. Tactically complex, it was evidence that even with limited coaching time, English players can adapt to the sort of football deployed at the very highest level.
If Carsley can do it with teenagers, he can do it with seasoned professionals.
'This might be the best footballing team I've played in, in terms of how we play and the combination play around the box,' said Gordon, the tournament's top scorer.
'It's really an elite level. For me, that's down to Lee.'
Each answer from all of the players, to whatever point was being made, was the same — it was because of Carsley, the man who took every session in a trusty cap to protect him from the sun.
The name of Lee Carsley is unlikely to stir the soul of a public who failed to shake suspicions of Southgate's lack of elite experience. He was an FA man and so is Carsley after seven years with them.
Carsley is an FA man yet so too is Didier Deschamps, who has not done badly in France
Now he stands as one of this country's preeminent development coaches, with FA technical director John McDermott a huge admirer
The game plan was front foot, brave on the ball and stoic at the back. There was the intuitive Gomes further back, but also Anthony Gordon (pictured) as a false nine
Yet so too is Didier Deschamps, who has not done badly in France. Lionel Scaloni had a go with Argentina's Under 20s before lifting the World Cup and Copa America.
Carsley's journey is not dissimilar to that of Spain's Luis de la Fuente and while there is not a one-size-fits-all to what makes a winning coach in international football, there's something to be said for a man who has existing positive relationships with the burgeoning talents.
And somebody whose football drags you along with him.